E 664 

.W33U5 














■\\3R/bi c "' *' 



<*A ,CT c ° " a * "*b A*' . <• " ., 



\v 



** .A* 



fc ^ ^ * jfife 






<> & 






++Q* 






AT 






W 



» w ^ 






o« o * " 



u 6^ C,V ' 7 ^^^^^ 



t *> 



^ 



sS 






' 




* o « 





















<>v 












°^ 









/a 



/ 



5isT Congress, 1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ( Mis. D 

2d Session. J ■ . ' 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 

OF 

LEWIS F. WATSON, 

A REPRESENTATIVE FROM PENNSYLVANIA, 



DELIVERED IN THE 



House of representatives and in the Senate, 

FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF CONGRESS. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT l'RINTING OFFICE. 
189I. 



E 



; 
site 



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO PRINT THE EULOGIES UPON LEWIS F. WATSON. 

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That 
there be printed of the eulogies delivered in Congress upon the late Lewis 
F. Watson, a Representative in the Fifty-first Congress from the State 
of Pennsylvania, twelve thousand copies ; of which three thousand copies 
shall be for the use of the Senate and nine thousand shall be for the use 
of the House of Representatives ; and the Secretary of the Treasury be, 
and he is hereby, directed to have printed a portrait of the said Lewis 
F. Watson to accompany said eulogies. That of the quota of the House 
of Representatives the Public Printer shall set apart fifty copies, which he 
shall have bound in full morocco, with gilt edges, the same to be delivered, 
when completed, to the family of the deceased. 

In the House of Representatives, agreed to February 37, 1891. 

In the Senate, agreed to February 28, 1891. 

2 



\ 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



ANNOUNCEMENT OF DEATH. 



August 25, 1800. 

Mr. O'Neill, of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I ask con- 
sideration of the resolutions which I send to the Clerk's desk. 
As I entered the House a few minutes before its meeting to- 
day I was told that my colleague, Mr. Lewis F. Watson, 
had died suddenly at the Shoreham this morning at 11 
o'clock. This to me, Mr. Speaker, came as a shock. The 
death of an associate always comes to us as a shock, and in 
this instance it has peculiar force, as Mr. Watson is the 
third member of the Pennsylvania delegation who has died 
during this session in the city of Washington. 

Mr. Watson was a gentleman who was highly esteemed 
in the portion of Pennsylvania in which he resided. He 
"was a man of great business capacity, a man who had the 
confidence and esteem of the people among whom he lived 
during the whole of his busy life. He was elected to the 
Forty-fifth Congress, again to the Forty-seventh, and again 
to this, the Fifty-first Congress. He had been renominated, 
to be elected in November, to the Fifty-second Congress. 
Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I feel this, I can assure the 
House, with deep sorrow and with great sadness. At a f utu re 
time we will ask that a day be fixed on which to pronounce 

3 



4 Proceedings in the House of Representatives. 

eulogies upon the life and character of our deceased friend 
and colleague. 
I move the adoption of the resolutions. 

The Clerk read as follow : 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound regret the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. Lewis F. Watson, late a Representative from 
the State of Pennsylvania. 

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That 
a select committee, consisting of seven members of the House and three 
members of the Senate, be appointed to take order for superintending the 
funeral, and that the necessary expenses attending the execution of this 
order be paid out of the contingent fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House be authorized and 
directed to take such steps as may be necessary for properly carrying into 
effect the provisions of these resolutions. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate the foregoing resolutions to the 
Senate ; and that, as a further mark of respect to the memory of the de- 
ceased, the House do now adjourn. 

Mr. O'Neill, of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, with great 
delicacy I ask to be excused from serving upon the commit- 
tee. 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted. 

Mr. Culbertson of Pennsylvania, Mr. McAdoo, Mr. Craig, 
Mr. Townsend of Pennsylvania, Mr. Maish, Mr. Wallace of 
New York, and Mr. Kerr of Pennsylvania were appointed 
as the committee to attend the funeral. 

And then (at 12 o'clock and 55 minutes p. m.) the House 
adjourned until 11 o'clock a. m. to-morrow. 



EULOGIES. 



December 12, 1890. 
Mr. O'Neill, of Pennsylvania, by unanimous consent, 
submitted the following resolution; which was read, con- 
sidered, and agreed to: 

Resolved, That Saturday, January 31, 1891, at 3 o'clock afternoon, be 
set aside for paying tributes to the memory of Hon. Lewis F. Watson, 
late a member of the House of Representatives from the State of Penn- 
sylvania. 



January 31, 1891. 
The Speaker. The hour of 3 o'clock having arrived, the 
Clerk will report the special order. 
The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, Tbat Saturday, January 31, 1891. at 3 o'clock afternoon, be 
set aside for paying tributes to the memory of Hon. Lewis F. Watson, 
late a member of tlie House of Representatives from the State of Penn- 
sylvania. 

5 



6 Address of Mr. O'Neill, of Pennsylvania, on the 



Address of Mr. O'Neill, of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Speaker: On Monday, August 25, 1800, in sorrow I 
announced to the House the death of my esteemed colleague 
Lewis F. Watson, a Representative from the Twenty- 
seventh Congressional district of the State of Pennsylvania, 
of which State he was a native. He died suddenly in the 
city of Washington, at about 11 o'clock in the morning of 
that day, at the Shoreham, the hotel in which he and Mrs. 
Watson were living. He had come safely downstairs, and 
when about stepping into a carriage at the door he became 
unconscious and fell. He breathed his last a few minutes 
afterwards in a reception room of the hotel, to which he had 
been carried, dying a painless death. He had not been in 
robust health for some months, but was not detained from 
the House by illness, excepting at intervals of a day or two 
at a time, and upon the day of his death he thought he was 
feeling stronger and insisted upon going to the House of 
Representatives. His good wife, and oh how careful she 
was of him, did not approve of his going out that morning, 
bnt important public business called him, and death came 
upon him as he was about to start to the performance of 
duty. 

He was devoted to duty, whether in the walks of private 
life or in public official position. He liked occupation, and 
was never happy without it. Ho did not deprive himself of 
moderate social pleasure, and he took proper rest when ho 
fell thai hi' needed it. Thus he lived, a busy man, who 
accomplished success, and amidst the anxieties of extensive 
business operations In; spared time to cultivate and enjoy 
the happiness of home life; and he liad a truly happy home — 



Life and Character of Lewis R Watson. 7 

a devoted husband, an affectionate father, a true-hearted 
friend. He was held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens; 
joined them in enterprises for the advancement of the pros- 
perity of his neighborhood, willingly aided in works of char- 
ity, and was noted for integrity in all his dealings. He was 
a man of great wealth, and was not spoiled by it. He was 
easy of approach, and never lost that gentleness and hearti- 
ness of manner which so endeared him to those who had 
started in life with him, but who had been less fortunate 
than he. 

To accumulate wealth in honorable pursuits is most com- 
mendable, and communities esteem the citizen who by 
energy, uprightness, and perseverance realizes fortune. 
Mr. Watson stood preeminent among the wealthy men of 
his State, because, in the enjoyment of his more than ample 
competence, he was ever ready to help to success the steady, 
industrious man of small means who was striving to better 
his condition by patient, uncomplaining work. The poorer 
members of a community do not envy the richer because of 
their wealth; but when riches create only pride, self-conceit, 
disdainful treatment, and want of sympathy in their pos- 
sessor, then is the man of wealth looked upon as the enemy 
of progress and of the prosperity of his neighbors. No such 
feelings belittled Mr. Watson's nature. He was looked 
upon as a useful man, a benefactor, and a friend in the 
community in which he lived. 

In this Congress death has taken from the Pennsylvania 
delegation three of its members. We in the last session 
eulogized William D. Kelley and Samuel J. Randall, and 
to-day we are paying tribute to the memory of Lewis F. 
Watson, a dear colleague, to whom we were ^,11 so greatly 
attached. From the Thirty-eighth Congress, in which I had 
my first service, until now, the Fifty-first, no Pennsylvania 



8 Address of Mr. O'Neill, of Pennsylvania ■, on the 

member's death occurred during the session excepting that 
of Mr. Darwin A. Finney, who died "abroad" during a ses- 
sion of the Fortieth Congress. The distinguished states- 
man Thaddeus Stevens died in Washington after Congress 
had adjourned, and the beloved William A. Duncan, of the 
York, Adams, and Cumberland district, in the Forty-eighth 
Congress, departed this life at his own home during the inter- 
val between sessions. So death had for a long period spared 
our Pennsylvania colleagues during the sessions of both the 
Senate and House, saving us the grief of mourning here 
over their sad departure until he came with relentless power 
into the present Congress, when three members, in the 
midst of their greatness, prominence, and usefulness, yielded 
up their lives. 

Our days have indeed been saddened. Our pleasant com- 
panionship with these colleagues has been severed, and as in 
their lives we looked to them to aid us in legislating for our 
country, we have missed them as Representatives of our dear 
old Commonwealth; for in their very souls each of them was 
true to the nation, true to Pennsylvania. Mr. Watson had 
been honored by three elections to the House of Representa- 
tives. His intelligence, habits of business, and knowledge 
of affairs gave him an enviable position among his fellow- 
members. In the Forty -fifth Congress he was assigned by 
its Speaker to the Committee on Agriculture, a committee 
of tlif highest importance 1 o the interests of so many millions 
of the people. In the Forty-seventh Congress his merits 
gained him places in the Committees on Naval Affairs and 
on Public Lauds. His services in these committees were 
highly appreciated by his fellow-members who were on them 
and by the House. 

( '.ailing to the Fifty-first Congress, his reputation as an 
attentive, influential member of former Congresses had pre- 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 9 

ceded him, and its Speaker realized the importance to the 
country of placing him on the Committees on Naval Affairs 
and on Public Lands, in which he had served with such use- 
fulness and distinction. Our colleague, my fellow-members 
from Pennsylvania, has left us an example we well may fol- 
low. He was so earnest in all he undertook. He was so 
ready to keep us at all times so well informed of his com- 
mittee work. He was ever so anxious to have us come to 
him to inform him of what we desired him to do. He was 
so gentle in his manners, so affable, so pleasant, so com- 
municative, that we can not but miss him constantly. 

He was indeed our friend. That friendship I will never 
forget, and in speaking of him upon this occasion I am 
bowed down with personal sorrow, and I grieve over the loss 
of one who to me was ever the agreeable companion, the 
constant friend. I can bring before me now his pleasant 
smile, I can in imagination feel the warm clasp of his hand 
when greeting him, while the softness of his voice seems to 
come upon my ear as it had in life. As we stood around his 
coffin, no manlier form, dead or living, had our eyes ever 
beheld. 



Address of Mr, Vaux, of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Speaker: Pennsylvania has had cause to mourn over 
the death of some of her distinguished Representatives 
during the period of the Fifty-first Congress. 

The capital of our country is not exempt from the visits 
of the Angel of Death. 

So true is it, that "Pallida mors cequo pulsat pede pau- 
perum tabernas, regumque turres." 

There is a lesson in these bereavements to those who 
survive and mourn. When in the halls of our Federal 



10 Address of Mr. Vaux, of Pennsylvania^ on the 

Legislature the announcement is made of the death of one 
of the people's Representatives it must occasion a pause in 
our proceedings. Our departed colleagues, called to their 
great account before the God of the whole earth and the 
inhabitants thereof, awakens a sense of individual account- 
ability. 

The Representative has other accountabilities. He acts 
and speaks for those who reposed in him their confidence. 
How he performs this duty he must answer. 

God judges on the moral accountability, and this infallible 
judgment is unalterable and eternal. The judgment of 
man is fallible. It is not permanent. It can be reversed. 
The Representative has an appeal from a decision of his 
constituents. It may be likened to a further hearing on an 
interlocutory judgment. 

The death of Mr. Lewis F. Watson, Representative from 
the Twenty-seventh district of Pennsylvania, was announced 
to the House on August 25 last. 

He was a native of that State, and was born in Crawford 
County. 

The most eloquent speech of the honorable and distin- 
guished gentleman who was elected to till the vacancy 
occasioned by Mr. Watson's death, Governor Stone, is 
replete with interesting details of the life of his predecessor. 
It would on my part partake of supererogation to add if I 
could to his interesting sketch of Mr. Watson's life. Gov- 
ernor Stone knew him well. He was associated with him in 
many relations as a citizens and in the public duties of Mr. 
Watsox; so that he became familiar with his character as 
a prominent man in the count ies which compose the Con- 
gressional district. 

This biographical outline shows the prominenl feat ares of 
the character of our departed colleague. 1 [e was an earnest . 



Life and Character of Lczvis F. Watson. 11 

persistent man in all his undertakings. He developed the 
resources of his part of the State of Pennsylvania. The 
opening up the country by railroad enterprise, the sub- 
jugation of the forest to the demands of agricultural labor, 
the support of the accepted means to secure the advantages 
of civilization engaged Mr. Watson's earnest efforts. He 
had the satisfaction to know that his services were appre- 
ciated. 

It may not be apart from this view of his services to 
mention that the development of the means to secure the 
petroleum production, so remarkable in Pennsylvania, was 
encouraged and assisted by the active energy and labors of 
Mr. Watson. 

He seems to have felt there were other duties devolving 
on him by reason of his prominent position as a citizen of 
his section of the State. 

The need of an institution organized to receive and care 
for the savings of those who labor and save so much of their 
earnings as can be saved from the daily expenses of their 
families was soon apparent. The population taken into the 
country to labor in its industries were most to be benefited 
by such an opportunity to deposit their savings. 

Mr. Watson aided in the establishment of the Savings 
Bank of Warren, a chief center of population, in Warren 
County. This, too, was a great success, so that Mr. Wat- 
son earned the respect and confidence of the people of Cam- 
eron, McKean, and Warren Counties, which composed the 
Twenty-seventh Congressional district. 

The fitting outcome of the effect of Mr. Watson's serv- 
ices, and the just appreciation by the people of a self-made 
man with a self-made character, was his election to the 
Forty-fifth, Forty-seventh, and also to the Fifty-first Con- 
gresses. 



12 Address of Mr. Vaux, of Pennsylvania, on the 

During the years lie served in Congress he gained the 
cordial esteem of his colleagues. 

He was not a learned man. He was not even a student. 
His education was the practical training for the active 
duties of an active life. 

His tastes were simple. Not having leisure for the culti- 
vation of literature, and most probably not attracted by 
studies which needed mental training to acquire or master, 
he was a positive, practical, useful, valuable citizen. 

His Representative duties were performed to the satisfac- 
tion of his people. He neglected no act, labor, or effort 
which were demanded of him by those he represented in the 
Federal Congress. His reflections prove this. 

His health of latter time was somewhat impaired. He 
was forced during the past few months to seek recreation 
from his public duties. It was my fortune to meet him 
frequently while enjoying the rest he so much desired. 

Our intercourse in the familiarity of social association led 
me to form an opinion of Mr. Watson's character that 
made me respect and esteem him. 

He was conservative in his political opinions. Frank, 
courteous, and kind, ho could not fail to make an impres- 
sion on those who were favored with his friendship. 

Deeply touched by the sudden death o!' my late colleague, 
it was a duty, the discharge of which, though so sorrowful, 
was s<» plain, that I venture to offer this tribute to the 
character and memory of L^wis F. Watson. 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 13 



Address of Mr. Stone, of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Speaker: The admonitions of the uncertainty of life 
and the certainty of death which have come to the members 
of this House have been frequent and impressive. 

Eleven of the men elected to the Fifty-first Congress have 
been removed by the hand of Death from participation in its 
deliberations. Six did not live to take the seats to which 
they were elected and five passed away during the first ses- 
sion of this Congress. 

Of these five, three (more than one-tenth of her entire del- 
egation) were from the State of Pennsylvania. Randall, 
Kelley, and Watson all died during a single session. Three 
times within a few months the legislative business of this 
House has been suspended to pay becoming tributes of re- 
spect to the memory of Pennsylvania's dead Congressmen; 
and whatever of solemnity this occasion may have for mem- 
bers of other delegations, to the Representatives from Penn- 
sylvania it cannot fail to be impressive and suggestive of 
serious thought and reflection. 

I knew Mr. Watson well. He was my neighbor for more 
than a quarter of a century. Our lines of action in business 
and in politics ran sometimes parallel and sometimes diver- 
gent, but the contact of daily life, the amenities of social 
intercourse, the intimacies of business relations, and the 
means of knowledge drawn from professional employment, 
sometimes in his service and often adverse, gave me a con- 
ception and comprehension of his character and character- 
istics which I can but imperfectly express or communicate 
to others. 



14 Address of Mr. Stone, of Pennsylvania, on the 

Lewis Findlay Watson was born in northwestern Penn- 
sylvania, in the county of Crawford, on the 11th day of 
April, 1819. 

He was of sturdy Scotch-Irish lineage, and inherited and 
deveknped many of the characteristics of his ancestry. His 
parents were from the State of Delaware, but had early set- 
tled on the frontiers of western Pennsylvania. They gave 
to their son the somewhat crude educational advantages of 
that section, until, at the age of thirteen, the necessity of 
earning his own living forced him to seek employment in a 
store in the village of Titusville. Thus early he began the 
single-handed battle of life, which he fought out with un- 
flinching courageand persistence to the end. He commenced 
with the advantage of poverty, the spur of necessity. His 
unremitting industry and unconquerable determination over- 
came all obstacles and ultimately crowned his efforts with 
a full measure of success. 

He continued to work in different stores until 1837, when 
he became a clerk in the office of the prothonotary of War- 
ren County. The following year he was enabled to enter 
the old Warren Academy, then under the charge of Rasse- 
las Brown, who afterwards, on the bench and at the bar, at- 
tained honorable eminence, and still lives loved and revered 
by a large circle of attached friends. I recently asked hi in 
if he remembered Colonel Watson as a scholar. "Yes," 
said lie. " lie was a quiet young man, a good student, espe- 
cially in bookkeeping and mathematics." 

In a few months he had completed his school education, 
ami with a fab' preparation for the sphere of labor which he 
had selected he entered activelyand zealously into mercantile 
pursuits, and the borough of Warren became his permanent 
borne. With differenl partners, and sometimes alone, he 
continued extensively engaged in trade until I860, when he 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 15 

transferred his attention and energies to the manufacture 
and sale of lumber. 

During these years he was rather frail in appearance, with 
a tendency to lung disease, which caused him for several 
winters to seek the more genial climate of the South, but 
produced little or no remission in his close attention to busi- 
ness. As he reached middle life he became stouter in per- 
son, and his active outdoor pursuits brought to him more 
than average health and vigor, and these he retained till 
the last year of his life. 

From 18G0 he gradually extended his business operations. 
He acquired large tracts of land in Pennsylvania at low 
prices, and these afterwards became valuable for timber, for 
oil, and gas. 

The rich wheat lands of Dakota attracted his attention, and 
several thousand acres in the best part of that vigorous young 
Commonwealth were added to his possessions. 

A trip which he made in 1883 to the Pacific coast and along 
the shores of Puget Sound and back into the primeval forests 
of that wonderful region led him to considerable invest- 
ments in the then Territory of Washington. The trained 
judgment and keen eyes of the practical lumberman com- 
prehended at once the vast future possibilities of that un- 
rivaled timber region, and he sought to ally himself with 
its progress and development. 

To the end of his life he continued engaged in the lumber 
business, and prided himself on his thorough and practical 
kn< >wledge of all its features and details. 

This, however, was not his only occupation. As early as 
1859, soon after Colonel Drake had drilled his pioneer oil 
well near Titusville, Colonel Watson leased of his brother, 
who owned land in that vicinity, a single acre, and, in com- 
pany with Archibald Tanner, drilled what proved to be the 



16 Address of Mr. Stone, of Pennsylvania, on the 

first flowing oil well ever discovered, and for thirty years 
thereafter he continued to derive more or less income from 
the production of oil. 

In the building of the railroad which was to connect his 
home with Lake Erie on the north, and the stirring enter- 
prising oil region on the south, he was a leading and active 
spirit. 

He helped to organize the First National Bank of Warren, 
and later the Warren Savings Bank, and was for twenty 
years president of this latter institution. To all these busi- 
ness enterprises in which he was interested he gave more or 
less of his personal attention. 

He was clear in his calculations, strict in his requirements 
of others, inquisitive and watchful of every movement about 
him, careful in his attention to details, tireless in his pursuit 
of any enterprise he had in hand. He thus year by year 
extended his operations and increased his possessions until 
he became one of the wealthiest men of his section. 

Until about 1870 he had taken no active part and mani- 
fested no special interest in politics. Soon after that date 
he began to cherish some political ambitions, which took 
practical form when two or three years later he sought but 
failed to obtain the Republican nomination for State senator. 

In 1ST I la' received the Congressional recommendation of 
Ins county, but failed in thedist rid convention. Two years 
later he was nominated and elected by an overwhelming 
majority over William L. Scott, who lias since served with 
distinction in lliis body, and in due lime lie took his seat in 
the Forty-fifth- Congress. 

He represented an oil district, and when the producers, who 
had Long suffered from discriminations against them by the 
carrying corporations from thai section, determined to seek 
a remedy by national as well as Stale Legislation, they 



LJfe and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 17 

prepared and placed in his hands what became afterwards 
known as the "Watson antidiscrimination bill." This 
measure he introduced, and he zealously labored to secure 
its enactment into law. It passed the House, but failed to 
receive action in the Senate. Its agitation, however, and 
the attention attracted to the subject opened the way to the 
future legislation which became embodied in the interstate- 
commerce law. 

At the end of his term Colonel Watson failed to secure 
a renomination, but was more fortunate in 1880, and served 
as a member of the Forty-seventh Congress. Three times 
successively thereafter he sought the nomination of his party 
without success, but in 1888 he was nominated in the new 
district then recently formed and triumphantly elected, and 
prior to his death had been again renominated. 

Early in last session he was afflicted with a sickness which 
proved the forerunner of an incurable disease. He struggled 
bravely against it, and while he wasted gradually away and 
his friends saw the dark angel hovering over him, he stood 
bravely at his post. The session was exciting, its require- 
ments exacting, but his duty seemed to hold him here, and 
here he remained, against the advice of his physician and 
the protests of his friends. 

On the 25th of last August he left his home at the Shore- 
ham to come to the Capitol, but before he reached the street 
he staggered, sank back into the arms of his secretary, and 
in a few moments ceased to breathe: " God's finger touched 
him, and he slept." The stirring, busy life was ended; the 
spirit had returned to God who gave it. 

The loving hands of family and friends and sympathizing 

associates from this House bore him back to his home in the 

beautiful valley of the Alleghany; and in the quiet cemetery 

on the mountain side, looking down on the home he had 

H. Mis. 133 2 



18 Address of Mr. Stone, of Pennsylvania, on the 

built and beautified and on the stirring town in which he 
had spent more than half a century of his life, they left him, 
dust returned to dust. 

As a business man Colonel Watson was careful, prudent, 
energetic, indefatigable, persevering, and determined in 
what he undertook, and hence he made a success of his 
undertakings. He was industrious in habit, cool in judg- 
ment, cautious in plan, thorough in investigation, and care- 
ful, even tiresome, in attention to details. He had clear 
and practical views, remarkable sagacity, and tremendous 
energy. He was possessed of abundant means to gratify 
every whim or wish, but he remained frugal in his tastes, 
economical and close in his business transactions. He knew 
the power of money and valued it accordingly. He used it 
intelligently and at times liberally. He-combined the quali- 
ties which made financial success a certainty. 

Into politics he carried his business methods. He decided 
what he wanted and set resolutely at work to obtain it. He 
concentrated his attention on the end to be gained with a 
determination that admitted no question or cavil, and thus 
sometimes he failed to discriminate carefully as to the 
means and agencies employed to reach that end; he was 
occasionally beaten, but he never surrendered. 

As a member of this body he was quiet, attentive, and 
faithful; he made no speeches, took no part in debate, nor 
in the management or molding of legislation on this floor. 

He had come into this body without special adaptation or 
previous training, but he sought with patience and fair suc- 
cess to supply these deficiencies and acquaint himself with 
the proceedings in which he was taking part. He was reg- 
ular in attendance when not disabled by sickness, and by 
his votes voiced the sentiments of his constituents faithfully 
and intelligently. 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 19 

He was dignified and gentlemanly in his deportment, dis- 
posed to be sociable and companionable with his friends, 
and to cultivate the acquaintance and good will of his fel- 
low-members. 

He was attentive to the wants of his constituents and ever 
ready to answer their calls upon him. He employed compe- 
tent assistants to look to what he could not personally do, 
and at the Pension Office and various Departments, with the 
thoroughness and persistency which characterized the con- 
duct of his private affairs he sought to carry out the wishes 
and promote the interests of those he represented. 

Serving in no two Congresses successively, he labored at 
all times more or less under the disadvantages and limita- 
tions which always surround and hamper a new member; 
but he had a fair measure of confidence in himself and as- 
serted his position and rights with commendable zeal and 
courage, and he enjoyed the confidence and respect of his 
associates on this floor. 

But, sir, his work is ended. The widowed wife and the 
only child mingle their bitter burning tears over the new- 
made grave ; business associates express their sorrow and 
tender their sympathies ; the lawmakers of a great nation 
pause in their work and offer their tributes of respect and 
regard ; but the great world moves on. The ranks close up. 
The tumultuous present crowds out the sad and saddening 
past. The necessity for action cuts short the opportunity 
for memory ; and we turn again to the duties that con- 
front us. 

That the wound heals quickly does not indicate that it 
was not deep, but only that the system is in a healthy con- 
dition and the recuperative forces normal and strong. 



20 Address of Mr. Holman, of Indiana, on the 



Address of Mr. Holman, of Indiana. 

Mr. Speaker: I had only a brief acquaintance with Mr. 
Watson, and yet the judgment I formed of his character 
is admirably expressed in the eloquent addresses we have 
just heard from the gentlemen from Pennsylvania [Mr. 
O'Neill and Mr. Stone], who had known him so long and 
well. I had the pleasure of forming an acquaintance with 
Mr. Watson in the Forty-seventh Congress; and it was 
with sincere gratification that I met him as a member of 
this House at the opening of its first session. During the 
present Congress and up to the time of his death he was a 
member of the Committee on Public Lands, of which I am 
a member; and until failing health compelled him to 
abstain from his active committee duty I had the pleasure 
of meeting him from week to week in the current business 
of that committee. I formed a very high opinion of his ca- 
pacity in business affairs and of his qualities as a gentleman. 
He was a gentleman of fairness and candor, thoroughly 
upright and honest, and anxious to fulfill with fidelity the 
trust he had assumed as a Representative of the people. 

Mr. Watson, as a Representative, felt an earnest inter- 
est in everything that concerned the prosperity of our coun- 
try, and I felt sure that such a man as hewas could not 
live in any community without its being improved and bet- 
tered by his life. He was a gentleman of amiable dispo- 
sition around whom friends would gather. 1 have been 
informed that lie was a gentleman of ample fortune, the 
result of his own honorable enterprise. Largo fortunes, 
whether inherited or the result of patient industry, do not 
generally inspire in the hearts of their possessors a kind 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 21 

and benevolent spirit. Such fortunes suggest the endow- 
ment of great institutions and acts of public munificence, 
but their possessors seldom display the generous and heart- 
enlarging charity that without ostentation feeds the hun- 
gry, consoles the afflicted, and seeks to raise up the fallen. 

I know nothing of the home life of Mr. Watson, but I 
feel sure that he was a kind and charitable gentleman, will- 
ing to aid the poor and unfortunate, and never turned from 
his door any one seeking food, shelter, or relief. His face 
Was pleasant, kind, and benevolent. I was charmed with 
his social qualities. He met his friends with a frank and 
cordial greeting. His conversation was pleasant and in- 
structive. 

At the close of a long life, devoted to enterprises benefi- 
cial to the community in which he lived and to his country, 
I am sure Mr. Watson merited and received that highest 
eulogy that can be expressed on a life well spent, the heart- 
felt regret of those who knew him well that a good man 
was dead. In the final vicissitudes of life the tears of neigh- 
bors and friends are the highest tribute the living can pay 
to the memory of the dead. 



Address of Mr. Boutelle, of Maine. 

Mr. Speaker: The House of Representatives of the Fifty- 
first Congress has been called upon to an unusual extent to 
observe in tributes to the departed the remarkable visita- 
tions of fatality which have followed the membership of this 
House. And to-day it becomes our duty to pause amid the 
busy work of legislation to pay a proper tribute of respect 
and esteem to the memory of one of our departed companions 
who, during a long and busy and honorable life, had filled 



22 Address of Mr. Boutelle, of Maine, on the 

out the full rounded measure of public duty, and who has 
now gone to his reward beyond the limitations of our present 
mortal career. 

My acquaintance with the deceased did not extend over a 
long period of years, nor was it of so intimate a character as 
that which I have had with some other members of th \ 
present and previous Congresses. But as a member of the 
committee of which I happen to be the chairman in this Con- 
gress I was brought into daily contact with him during the 
greater part of the last session, and had abundant oppor- 
tunity to observe with interest and respect the admirable 
traits of character which adorned him. I learned to honor 
him as a man of earnest convictions, of great integrity, of 
wise judgment, and amiable temperament. He was pecul- 
iarly attentive, even in the minutest details, to any duty 
which devolved upon him. He was painstaking in his de- 
sire to discharge even the least of the obligations resting 
upon him in his legislative capacity. 

In his association with his colleagues he was a peculiarly 
delightful comrade and companion; and I may safely s: iv 
Hint among the number of those who have gathered about 
the board of the Naval Committee no member could have 
been taken away around whose memory there would cling 
a gentler and sweeter incense of friendship and comradeship. 
I have deemed it incumbenl upon me to say this much in 
commemoration of an associate in the committee wort <>t' 
this ( Jongress— a fellow-member for whom I have entertained 
a very bigh degr.ee of respeel and esteem, and whose sudden 
;ui,| almosl tragic death came to me with all the effect of a 
severe shock and personal loss.- 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 23 



ADDRESS OF MR. BROSIUS, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr. Speaker: I do not hope to add anything to the truth 
or beauty of the tributes with which love and esteem have 
garlanded the memory of the distinguished dead ; but I crave 
the indulgence of a moment to mingle my voice with the 
swelling anthem of affectionate and eloquent enlogy. because 
I respected and honored our departed friend while living, 
and dead I feel a sincere and reverential regard for his 
memory. 

The duration of his life, the usefulness of his exertions, the 
elevation of his sentiments, and the nobility of his character 
united to form a career interesting, instructive, and admira- 
ble in a high degree. Whatever success rewarded his efforts 
was in no sense due to the conditions of his life. Neither 
birth nor rank nor fortune aided his advancement. He 
commenced with "parts and poverty," the characteristic 
patrimony of American youth. His achievements were due 
entirely to principles, qualities, and forces which summed 
up a strong personality. 

He possessed a firm will, a sound judgment, and the cour- 
age of his convictions. He was a thoughtful man, quiet 
and unobtrusive, without ostentation or egotism, simple in 
his tastes, blameless in character, benevolent in feeling, and 
was, I believe, from my observation of him, a signal example 
of fidelity to conviction, devotion to duty, and loyalty to 
conscience and country. If the qualities exhibited during 
the brief period of our association as colleagues here were 
in any degree an index to his character, it is safe to say that 
no draft upon his duty, his honor, his patriotism, or his 
benevolence ever went to protest. 



24 Address of Mr. firosius, of Pennsylvania , on the 

Remembering his prompitude and his unremitting atten- 
tion to the calls made upon him, if I were to select from the 
cluster of his excellent qualities a single one to extol above 
others, I would say that no attribute of this superior man 
shone with a more supernal splendor than his conscientious 
and tireless devotion to duty. This is the "golden text " in 
the lesson of his life. He must have formed a part of his 
religion from the shipmaster in the story, who prayed to 
Neptune. "Oh, god, Thou may est save me if thou wilt, 
or destroy me; but however it be, I will hold my rudder 
true." 

If Schiller's poetic soul had put to Colonel Watson the 
question, " What shall I do to gain eternal life?" his kin- 
dred spirit would have answered back in the poet's own 

glowing words: 

Thy duty ever. 

Discharge aright the simple duties with 

Which each day is rife: yea, with thy might. 

So this good man has been twice ennobled. Death and 
duty ennoble all men. Such superb characters are the 
richest and rarest fruit of earth, and the fine vintage of their 
example should be garnered by their surviving countrymen 
t'« >r their i nstruction and refreshment, No man with limited 
human vision can see enough of the arc to be able even in 
imagination to picture the completed circle of noble influ- 
ence exerted upon mankind by exhibitions of loyal devotion 
to high ideas. My soul bows in reverence and love before 
the human temple which enshrines the divinity of "duty." 

Our brother reached the boundsof man's appointed years. 
The mysterious clock which the Angel of Life wound up to 
run for three-score years and ten. and then handed the key 
i«, ill.- Angel of the Resurrection, ran down at the appointed 
time. D.-ath cam.' suddenly. We heard the rustle and saw 
the shadow of his wings, and it was over. The record of a 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 25 

useful life was surrendered to the keeping of his surviving 
friends and the just judgment of history. 

There is solace in the thought that his death was in sea- 
son. He was gathered like the ripe sheaf into the garner. 
Life's blessings had been enjoyed ; life's work was fairly 
done, though the harness was still on, when nature, with 
some rudeness in her touch, but with a soft and gentle pur- 
pose, disengaged the vital cord, and he passed serenely to Lis 
final rest on the other shore of that mysterious sea " that 
never yet has borne on any wave the image of a homeward 
sail." 

And now, as we leave the contemplation of our departed 
friend, those who loved him can carry with them the con- 
solatory reflection "that, while green grass will cover his 
grave, blue skies bend over it, sweet birds sing near it, and 
the place will be hallowed ground ; yet, greener than the 
grass, fairer than the skies, sweeter than the birds, more 
hallowed than the grave itself, will be his fragrant mem- 
ory, enshrined with supreme sacredness in their heart of 
hearts." 



Address of Mr. Mutchler, of Pennsylvania. 

We are called upon to-day, for the third time during the 
present term of Congress, to mourn the loss and pay tribute 
to the memory of a member of the Pennsylvania delegation. 

Thrice within a period of a little more than twelve months 
has the unerring archer selected a victim from among our 
number, and sent his fatal shaft to remove him from the 
scenes that surround us. 

The grass had scarcely begun to grow upon the grave of 
Kelley before we were called upon to follow hence all that 



26 Address of Mr. Mutchler, of Pennsylvania, on the 

was mortal of Randall, and while the eyes of friends and 
relatives of those two distinguished statesmen were yet moist 
with the tears of love and affection, and while the sound of 
their funeral bells still lingered in our ears, the same fell 
instrument of destruction winged its way into the heart of 
the subject of this day's eulogies. 

My acquaintance with Lewis F. Watson began with the 
Forty-seventh Congress. Of his early life I have but little 
knowledge. He and I were reared in remote parts of the 
State; he on the western and I on the eastern border. It 
was, however, not long after our first meeting before I dis- 
covered that he possessed qualities of both head and heart 
which can not fail to command the respect and confidence 
due to a good man. He had large experience in business 
matters and a clear and comprehensive knowledge of the 
wants of the people. In his intercourse with his fellow- 
members he was always pleasant, kind, and affable, and 
never seemed to entertain an unkind thought of any one. 

As a man of business he was energetic, cautious, and suc- 
cessful. To every enterprise upon which he embarked he 
broughl the vigor of a well-trained mind and the resolution 
of a strong and unyielding will. He had no patience with 
people who believe that happiness is to be found in leading 
an idle and useless life, but was firm in his conviction thai 
it- is the solemn duty of every man to faithfully and ear- 
nestly employ the talents with which nature has endowed 
him in honest effort to acquire the means which add to the 
material and intellectual wealth of the world, and which 
lend to make home more comfortable and life more enjoy- 
able. 

It was the good fortune of Mr. Watson, possessing as he 
did those qualities which are essential to success in all busi- 
ness men. that he was born and lived in that part of his 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 27 

State where up to the time of his early manhood some of 
its richest resources were yet undeveloped. The existence 
of vast forests of the choicest timber and the discovery of 
immense basins of petroleum afforded a grand opportunity 
for the exercise of his ability and energy as a man devoted 
to business enterprises. In the operation and production of 
these valuable articles of commerce he was actively engaged 
for many years, and the ample fortune which he enjoyed in 
the latter part of his life, and which he has left as a comfort 
to those nearest and dearest to him while here, is the evi- 
dence of his industry and ability. 

That Mr. Watson enjoyed the respect and confidence of 
men who knew him best is evidenced by the fact that he 
was three times chosen to represent them on this floor, and 
had he not been stricken down while at his post of duty he 
doubtless would have been continued another term at least. 

The good opinion which a community may have with 
respect to the character of one of its number may not 
always be the truest measure of merit, but when that opin- 
ion is emphasized by the bestowal of repeated honors, as 
was the case with my lamented colleague, it is the surest 
test of a generous and winning disposition, a virtuous life, 
and of noble and exalted worth. 

The death of my colleague was sudden, peaceful, and to 
all appearances painless. Almost in the twinkling of an 
eye, and while apparently in good health, he was trans- 
ported from earthly scenes "to others we know not of." 
He was not cut down in the vigor of physical manhood, but 
his days were prolonged beyond the period allotted to the 
great majority of mankind. 

Mr. Speaker, to the darkness, pain, and sorrow of death 
all nature seems indifferent, harsh, and pitiless. We are 
born into the world, live for a day, and then take our 



28 Address of Mr. Hall, of Minnesota, on the 

departure, whither we know not. Yet faith and affection, 
listening to the small voice that comes from the tomb, hear 
the rustle of life and happiness beyond. 



Address of Mr. Hall, of Minnesota. 

Mr. Speaker: My acquaintance with Lewis F. Watson 
began with the Fifty-first Congress. We were members of 
the same committee — Public Lands. 

I was one of those selected to accompany the remains to 
their last resting place. We buried him in that beautiful 
spot the cemetery at Warren, Pa., near the city in which 
he bad led such a useful and honorable life, and where his 
Joss is so deeply felt. Mr. Watson and myself were drawn 
together in some unaccountable way, as men often are, from 
our first acquaintance. He was largely interested in pine 
land and lumber. 1 Lad had much to do with lumbering in 
early life. He owned and operated a large farm in Dakota. 
I was a farmer and much interested in matters pertaining to 
agriculture. Thus in some tilings our thoughts ran together, 
and we became unusually good friends for the time we had 
known each other. I found him remarkably well informed 
upon all matters of business, and the scope of bis informa- 
tion was not circumscribed by business alone. I learned to 
admire him for his sterling qualifies and true worth. 

Lewis F. Watson was every inch a, true man. His col- 
leagues knew it; his associates knew it; his neighbors knew 
it. He was a self-made man. In early life he earned his 
bread by thesweal of his brow. He adopted a code of rules; 
ae hewed to the line, and by honesty and fair dealing, 
accompanied wit h energy alid force of character, he amassed 
,-i fortune one might almost say with his strong right arm. 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. '2 ( .) 

What an example for the rising generation; what encour- 
agement for the poor boy; what a tribute to honesty and 
true manhood! It shows the possibilities in this free land 
of ours. 

Such men as Lewis F. Watson are milestones, as it were, 
to guide the feet and nerve on the discouraged youth who 
struggles with the realities of life and hardships attending 
small beginnings. He sees what honesty and energy have 
done; he goes forward to do likewise. 

It has been said that "many a despicable' wretch lies 
beneath a marble monument decorated with a flattering 
epitaph. " 

How opposite to this is it with our late friend and brother. 
Upon his tombstone may be recorded that priceless inherit- 
ance, dearer to his posterity and friends than wealth or 
station, the record of an honest man. The world is better 
for such as he having lived. He was an honest workman ; 
he was a good merchant; he was an honest banker; he was 
a great, big, all-round man. He is gone; we miss him; his 
neighbors miss him; all who knew him miss him, and his 
brethren mourn. 

With such striking examples as the life and successful 
career of our dear friend who has gone may many others 
come forward upon the stage of action to lead useful and 
honorable lives, guided by the noble actions of such as 
Lewis F. Watson. 



30 Address of Mr. Quinn, of New York, on the 



ADDRESS OF MR. QUINN, OF NEW YORK. 

Mr. Speaker: On this sad occasion I am prompted to speak 
a few words of eulogy on the life and character of our late 
distinguished colleague Lewis F. Watson. With what 
feelings of sorrow and grief the members of this the Fifty- 
first Congress have seen so many of their colleagues, so 
many of the noble and the good, stricken down by their side 
Men strong in the hope of long and many years yet to come; 
men whoso hearts beat warmly and tenderly, and whose 
greatest hope was that they might be spared to render 
greater good, have been taken from among us, and on earth 
are lost to us forever. 

And Pennsylvania, that State so loyal and true to every 
noble impulse, so patriotic in Avar and so affectionate and 
gentle in peace, has had to bear the greatest share in this 
irreparable loss. 

Mourning as we did during the last session of Congress 
over Hie bier of William D. Kelley — he who was known as 
the Father of the House, he who had spent in the service of 
his country without stain or blemish of any kind the greater 
portion of a long and useful life— soon again we were called 
upon to mourn the loss of another of Pennsylvania's sous, 
the matchless Randall, he who in the darkest hour of our 
country's history, whether on the field of battle or in tin' 
Halls of Congress, was never known to flinch before an 
opponent when he believed that the cause which he was 
defending was just; in battle fierce and terrible, yet gentle 
and courteous to the mos1 humble antagonist, and when t he 
battle was over, in disposition as sweet, genial, and bright 
as the- morning sun. The name of Samuel J. Randall will 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 31 

go down through the ages to couie to our children as one 
of the most brilliant and spotless in our country's history. 

And to-day, Mr. Speaker, we mourn the loss of Lewis 
F. Watson, a man whose name may not have been as widely 
known as those of our late colleagues of Pennsylvania 
whose names I have just mentioned, but whose charac- 
ter was as pure and unsullied as that of any other man 
who had ever gone before him through the dread portals of 
death. As a member of the Committee on Public Lands 
along with Mr. Watson I had an opportunity of studying 
and of fully knowing the character of our lamented col- 
1 1 'ague. Often have I watched and admired with what keen- 
ness and intelligence he studied the various and important 
matters coming before that committee, and never was he 
known to give his sanction to any of its decisions until he 
was fully convinced that those decisions were for the public 
good. 

Who is there that will not be compelled to admire the 
w< mderful career of this truly good man ? Born without any 
of the advantages which wealth and power give, he, in his 
life, was one of the truest exponents of the vast, the limit- 
less possibilities of American manhood. In the seventy-one 
years which he lived what a brilliant example he has left 
not only to the people of this generation, but also to gen- 
erations yet unborn. By the sheer force of indomitable will 
he overcame every obstacle, becoming one of the wealthiest 
and most important merchants of his native State. 

Honesty, integrity, and courage were all the inheritance he 
had with which to start life's battle, but worlds have been con- 
cpiered by just such qualities and by just such individuals. 

Possessed in an eminent degree of all these qualities, is 
it any wonder that Mr. Watson rose in the esteem of his 
fellow-men, rose in wealth and power such as rarely falls 



32 Address of Mr. Quinn, of New York, on the 

to the lot of mankind. The distinguished gentlemen his 
colleagues from Pennsylvania, who knew him well, have 
told you that with all his wealth he never for a moment 
forgot the poor and the afflicted, acting only as the agent 
in the distribution of his surplus means; for among the 
many wealthy men of his State none were so ready to lend 
a helping hand to the suffering and the needy as he, none 
so prompt to respond to the cry of sorrow and of suffering 
as he, and no man more ready to relievo the poverty and 
distress of those around him than was Lewis F. Watson. 

No wonder that we join our sorrow with the devoted com- 
panion of his life, the sharer of his earlier struggles and of 
his greatest triumphs; no wonder that our hearts go out to 
the faithful, the affectionate wife in her bereavement; no 
wonder thai Pennsylvania mourns the loss of one of its 
brightest sons; no wonder that a nation, through its Repre- 
sentatives on the door of this House mourns over his grave, 
for a nation's loss is the loss of such a son. 

Well might we say with our venerable poet, he who is now 
himself hovering between life and death — General Albert 
Pike: 

Life is a count of losses 

Every year: 
For the weak are heavier crosses 

Every year. 
Lost spring with sohs replying 
Unto weary autumn's sighing 

While I hose we love are dying 
Every year. 

Hut the truer life draws aigher 

Every year. 
Ami the morning star climbs higher 

Every year. 
Earth's hold on us proves slighter 
Ami its heavy burden lighter 
And the dawn immortal brighter 

Every year. 



Life and Character of Leans F. Watson. . 33 

What a consoling hope for weary mortals to feel, that after 
all our cares and sorrows, all our disappointments, and 
at times almost our despair, the truer life draws nigher, 
that faith, our beacon of hope, lifts our souls higher and 
higher, and as our hold on earth grows lighter we feel the 
dawn of immortality already overshadowing us. Then may 
we hear the sweet sounds of the angels mingling with the 
voices of our dear ones, our loved ones, who have gone be- 
fore, inviting us to come to them, to be with them, in the 
mansions of eternal bliss, forever and forever. 



ADDRESS OF MR. MCADOO, OF NEW JERSEY. 

Mr. Speaker: As is well known to the members of this 
House, the closest friendships and the best knowledge of the 
individual members of this body are gained from personal 
contact in the committees. When this Congress organized, 
and the Naval Committee, of which I have been a member 
during my service here, met for the first time last session, I 
became acquainted with Mr. Watson, and in the close con- 
tact brought about by the business of the committee I gained 
a knowledge of his character and of his capacity which cre- 
ated in my mind a profound respect and admiration for the 
man. 

He was thoroughly simple and yet dignified in his man- 
ner—an earnest, truth-seeking, practical man in everything 
that he did. He had reached more than the allotted years 
of the average man, and 'had arrived at that period of life 
at which, from the very laws of nature itself, he could not 
but know that the journey for him had well-nigh ended. 
He was, although vigorous in mind, somewhat feeble in 
health, and I was struck with the fact that during that long 
H. Mis. 133 3 



34 Address of Mr. McAdoo, of New Jersey, on the 

hot summer, amid the turmoil and excitement of a memo- 
rable session, and under circumstances, taking his age and 
physical condition into consideration, when he might well 
have been excused from close attendance on the commit- 
tee, he was always present at its meetings, and that the 
public duty of the office of Representative was to him an 
earnest matter, of the highest interest and responsibility, to 
be attended to with unwavering fidelity, not alone in the 
presence of man but in the sight of God — an honest, sincere, 
honorable, upright man, performing his duty without osten- 
tation or affectation; broad and catholic in his patriotism, 
intense in devotion to those homely virtues which mark the 
rugged manhood of the Republic; strong, severe, unalter- 
ing yet natural, like the western mountains of his great 
State, and amiable, gentle, domestic withal. 

I think there was no man on that committee who was 
more respected by his colleagues than was our deceased 
friend. I can well conceive that in the community where 
he lived, as has been said already to-day, he would be a man 
of commanding influence, as an honest, capable, patient, 
toiling man, of sincere convictions and absolute reliability 
will always be. I was attracted to Mr. Watson by those 
first impressions we are apt to form of men, and also felt an 
interesl in him from the fact that he represented in western 
Pennsylvania many who were allied to me by close ties of 
kinship, and who were among the early settlers of Venango 
and the adjoining counties, a country of beautiful water 
ways, fertile valleys, rich in timber and petroleum and min- 
eral deposits, but in the main nioifntainous and rugged, but 
picturesque. Men might grow slowly in developing their 
inner lives, but they grew aaturally, surely, and strongly, 
giving to Pennsylvania its si rong individuality and splendid 
position among the older and younger Commonwealths. 



Life and Character of Lewis F. J I 'a/son. 35 

Today, in the presence of the bier of the late Secretary of 
the Treasury, and recalling the awful suddenness and shock- 
ing swiftness of the summons to this statesman and execu- 
tive officer of our common Government, as well as the swift 
and unlooked-for passing away of our friend Mr. Watson, 
the words of the divine Master as recorded are profoundly 
impressive to every one of us: 

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels 
which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. 

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 

For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his 
house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, 
and commanded the porter to watch. 

Watch ye. therefore; for ye know not when the master of the house 
cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morn- 
ing: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto 
you I say unto all, Watch. 

Our friend in the morning of a summer day, at his post, 
despite his frailty and his years, on his way to the meeting 
of this House, suddenly met the glorious apparition of the 
Master, feasted his eyes upon the unspeakable splendors of 
the kingdom of the faithful, and was not found asleep, but 
watching and working as commanded. 



Address of Mr. Lacey, of Iowa. 

Mr. Speaker: Again and again has this Chamber been 
darkened, by the passing wing of the Angel of Death. 

On both sides of the -aisle which divides this body into 
two political parties has the fatal shaft repeatedly fallen 

Death has made no distinction of age or political creed, 
and the venerable Father of the House [Mr. Kelley], who 
has so long done honor to Pennsylvania, and the gifted 



36 Address of Mr. Lacey, of Iowa, on the 

young member [Mr. Walker] from Missouri, alike have paid 

the debt of nature. 

Pennsylvania has suffered great losses during the present 
Congress, and. in the roll of the dead, comprising the names 
of Beck, Burnes, Townshend, Gay, Laird, Cox, Wilber, 
Walker, Nutting, Kelley, Randall, and Watson, the Key- 
stone State has lost three out of the twelve. 

I remember in my boyhood an old tree that stood upon 
my father's farm. Its bare, gray, weather-beaten arms were 
stretched upward as if in prayer. Wind, flood, and fire had 
all smitten it and left their mark, but they all seemed to 
strike in vain, for still it stood the giant and master of the 
grove. On the mornings after many a tempest I had looked 
to see it lying wrecked in the track of the storm, but it had 
withstood them all. But on one bright summer afternoon, 
when not a breath of air was stirring and not a cloud was 
in the sky. the old tree fell with a sudden and startling 
crash. 

And so fell our colleague whom we commemorate to-day. 

In apparent health, crowned with years which had added 
to tlit; dignity of his appearance without hinting at serious 
decay, he bore all the marks of a vigorous old age. 

Suddenly the word came that he had fallen. 

M; m's enemy lurks unseen, and decay is the common lot 
of all. 

A worm is at (lie heart of youth, 
And at the root of age. 

The worm made its secret presence known at last, and (lie 
cud came. The end, did I say? No. it was but the begin- 
ning. In ;i Loftier life lei us hope our friend has solved thai 
greatesl of all questions, "If a man die, shall he live again?" 

Mr. Speaker, the time is not lost when the members of 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 37 

this House lay aside for a few hours the business of legisla- 
tion to contemplate their mortality as men. 

Our labors, as the first Congress in the second century of 
the nation's constitutional life, are soon to end. It has been 
a Congress full of political antagonisms, and one in which 
party spirit has run high. But while we gather around the 
Speaker's desk to hold in loving remembrance the name of 
Lewis F. Watson, a name kindly cherished by all who 
knew him on either side of the Chamber in the various Con- 
gresses in which he served, we can well lay aside the rancor 
of party spirit, and remember only that we are fellow-citizens 
and colleagues in this great representative body. 

It is upon the floor of the House that the scenes occur 
which imbitter the association of the .Representatives of the 
people, and the antipathies arise which often last through 
after years. Men are too apt to represent their parties alone 
upon the floor. 

But in the committee-room the inner selves of members 
come to the surface, and there it is that friendships are 
formed which are not bounded by States or party creeds. 
There it is that the light of the man himself shines out, It 
is there that we see at once the business, the political, 
and the social sides of our colleagues, and find that the man 
whom we have so often condemned upon the hustings is one 
whom it is a pleasure to know. 

It was in the Committee on Public Lands that I formed 
the acquaintance of Mr. Watson. My elbow touched his 
at the committee table, and there I learned speedily to know 
and appreciate his qualities. 

He was a watchful, observing, and working Representa- 
tive, and although he was not active in debate, he always 
kept informed upon the questions that were under consider- 
ation. Heartily in line with his political associates, and 



38 Address of Mr. Lacey, of Iowa, on the 

fully imbued with the belief that the principles of his party 
were right, he never forgot the consideration that was due 
to his associates with whom he disagreed. 

Practical good sense and a genial, pleasant manner made 
him alike a useful and agreeable companion. 

The world had been kind to him and he was kind to all 
the world. 

He was a prosperous man, but he shared his riches with 
his less-favored fellow-men. He recognized the fact that 
with the possession of wealth came the responsibility of 
administering the same as a trust for the good of those 
around him. 

Ripe in years, he had lived the full period usually allotted 
to man. 

It was said of a Greek mother that her death was the 
happiest recorded in history, because she died at the moment 
that she heard of the victory of her son at the Olympic 
games. So our departed friend died at the summit of 
earthly prosperity and success. 

Fortunate and prudent in his life, he was happy in a 
quick, unexpected, and painless death; a death the sudden- 
ness of which did not find him unprepared. The prayer 
for delivery from sudden death is for those who are unfit 
to go. 

Dying at the nation's capital, he was carried by the loving 
hands of bis colleagues to bis home in the State he loved so 
well, and there, followed by crowds of friends who had 
known him through his long and useful life, he was laid at 
rest amid familiar scenes. 

Here again we have the old lesson renewed once more. 
Even while we sit here to-day another great life lias gone. 
Another candle burning with a steady flame has suddenly 
been blown out, and the strong voice of William Windom 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 39 

had only sunk to silence, his lips had barely closed, when 
they opened in that mysterious after life to which we are 
all moving. 

Montaigne says: 

Why dost thou fear this last day ? It contributes no more to thy 
destruction than every one of the rest. Every day travels towards death; 
the last only arrives at it. 



Address of Mr. Mansur, of Missouri. 

Lewis F. Watson, of Warren, was horn in Crawford 
County, Pennsylvania; received an academic education; en- 
gaged in mercantile pursuits, and for the past twenty years 
has been an extensive operator in lumber and in the produc- 
tion of petroleum; in 1861 organized the Conewango Valley 
Railroad Company, now known as the Dunkirk, Allegheny 
Valley and Pittsburgh, and was elected its first president; 
was elected president of the Warren Savings Bank at its 
organization in 1870, a position which he still held at the 
at the time of his death ; was elected to the Forty-fifth 
and Forty-seventh Congresses, and was elected to the Fifty- 
first Congress as a Republican, receiving 13,582 votes, against 
9,370 votes for William A. Rankin, Democrat, 1,G70, votes 
for Charles Miller prohibitionist, and 919 votes for J. 
Whiteley. 

Such is the biographical information given by the Con- 
gressional Directory of last session relative to the life work 
of our deceased friend and colleague. On this sad occasion 
it is to be supplemented by his friends by further illus- 
trations, drawn from his life record, of traits of character 
illustrative of his career and of the great success attained 
by this strong yet modest man. 

His achievements were many and varied. Trader, specu- 



40 Address of Mr. Ma>/sur, of Missouri, on the 

lator, lumberman, banker, railroad promoter, builder, and 
manager,- thrice a member of Congress, legislator in the 
great sanhedrim of his nation — all attest the varied resources 
and capabilities of this strong man. Possessed of small 
means in his young manhood, he exercised n close economy, 
that laid sure foundations for a colossal fortune extending 
into the millions, ranking him at the time of his death as 
one of the wealthiest men in northwestern Pennsylvania. 

At the start very close and economical in his habits, yet 
he had the sturdy sense, as wealth grew upon him. to liber- 
alize himself in its use. So while his personal habits and 
tastes remained ever simple, to achieve a point, to create a 
home, to build up his town, to develop his region, to aid 
worthy charitable and benevolent objects, he eventually be- 
came fairly Liberal. 

His life achievement is one of which his friends, region, 
country, kindred, and family can be proud. It is another 
shining example of the possibilities open to our American 
youth, under stimulating influences of climate, soil, love of 
freedom, republican institutions, and democratic form of 
government, all creating a spirited rivalry among the sons 
of America, that in the end weed out the slothful, relegate 
the incapable to the rear of active participants, and give the 
crown of honor and success fco those who so worthily win. 

View the life of our deceased colleague as a well-rounded 
orb; take it as a whole, estimate it as we do the sun that 
gives warmth, beauty, vigor to the earth and fecundates it 
with animal and vegetable life — how insignificant and how 
contemptible the criticism that would magnify the spots 
thereon, or decry its glory in comparison with its products; 
so, in like manner, how small and puny any efforl that won hi 
depreciate the high status and glorious standing anion.-' his 
fellow-men won by our deceased brother? 



Life -and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 41 

Death is at all times sorrowful to contemplate by loving 
kindred and family, yet when a beloved person has attained 
three-score and ten, the tendons and muscles stiffen and work 
with difficulty, heart throbs slow, irregular, pulsating fee- 
bly, nerves, palate, and eyesight each failing, a conscious- 
ness growing day by day that life's work approximates its 
end, yet sustained by an inner satisfaction that all obliga- 
tions have been met with a stout heart and performed with 
an eye single to duty to man, to country, and to God, then 
to such person, as also to friends and kindred, death is rob- 
bed of its fears, and when it comes, all can join in the lan- 
guage of inspiration and exclaim: 

O Death, where is thy sting? 
O Grave, where is thy victory? 

In this light, the death of our friend was one to be courted, 
not shunned. Admonished from time to time, as he was. 
that dissolution was drawing nigh, to fall at the post of 
duty as he fell, to suffer the great change, and in a twink- 
ling to go from the terrestrial to the celestial, marks our 
friend as fortunate in his decease as he was favored in his 
life. 

Mr. Speaker, appointed as a member of the committee of 
this House to do honor to and attend the burial of our 
departed friend, I shall not soon forget the great attend- 
ance, the sad hearts and funereal countenances, the uni- 
versal desolation of woe shown in the myriad black and 
somber hangings everywhere exhibited that greeted our 
arrival and solemn procession with our dead through the 
streets of Warren to his residence, where consolations that 
religion only can bestow and grant were extended by a pious 
pastor to the widow, family, friends, and neighbors present 
in sympathizing sorrow and honor, and when again the pro- 



42 Address of Mr. Mansur, of Missouri, on the 

cession was formed and wound its slow length adown the 

town, and, as 

The bell doth toll 
For some but now 
Departing soul, 

across the long length of a bridge over the phenomenally 
beautiful Allegheny, we began the winding ascent of a bold 
and beautiful promontory, where high up lay "a silent city 
of the dead.'' Reaching the open grave, it seemed the most 
beautiful spot upon the earth for a man to go to his long 
and eternal sleep. The setting sun illuminated the west 
and shed a halo of glory over forest and stream. A sum- 
mer shower glistened in globules of light on every bending 
twig and blade of grass and leaf of tree. 

The grave overlooked long reaches of the river below, 
placid as a summer's dream; in front, all around, eternal 
hills robed in green foliage shut in the view; below us and 
at our feet were divers bridges spanning the river; along it 
busy marts of industry, now hushed in silence; the whole 
town of Warren looking as if but a stone's throw away; 
beautiful homes everywhere, among them his own at his 
feet. Such are the surroundings and outlook from the spot 
where we laid him amid a silence only broken by the twitter 
of the birds above, the low sobs of his family and friends, 
and the falling of the clods that covered him from view. 

Of him and of his Life 1 can say in the language of Bishop 
Hall: 

Man is no s ler made than he is set to work. Neither greatness nor 

perfection can privileges folded hand. How much more cheerfully we 
go about our business, so much nearer we come to our paradise. 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 43 



Address of Mr. Ray, of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Speaker: I shall occupy the time of the House but 
briefly in paying my humble tribute of respect to the memory 
of my deceased colleague from Pennsylvania, Hon. Lewis 
F. Watson. 

My personal acquaintance with Mr. Watson was of com- 
paratively short duration, covering a period of something 
less than nine months. It began with the beginning of the 
present Congress and terminated with the (dose of his honored 
and useful life on the 25th day of August, 1890. During 
that interval, although both coming from the same State 
and occupying seats on the same side of the House, we were 
only occasionally thrown together, and never, save once, 
except upon this floor. 

My knowledge, therefore, of the deceased, gained from 
personal contact and intercourse with him, is very slight, 
and will not justify me in attempting any analysis of his 
character, nor in passing any extended eulogy upon his 
manifold private and domestic virtues. That task has de- 
volved upon those who knew him longer and better than 
myself, and were better able, "by apt words fitly spoken," 
to do him justice. 

Only a few days before his death — some two or three— in 
the course of quite a lengthy conversation he recounted to 
me the physical sufferings he had undergone during the past 
few months. He spoke of his abstemious habits in his 
struggle with disease, and expressed the hope, if not the 
belief, that he was then on the highway to full and com- 
plete recovery. Although burdened with three-score ye; its 
and ten, their weight seemed to rest lightly upon him. He 



44 Address of Mr. Ray, of Pennsylvania, on the 

was looking forward, cheerfully and expectantly, to still 
coming years of labor, of usefulness, and of honor. His 
star of hope, if not in the zenith, was far above the horizon, 
and shining brightly. 

Alas! how frail and uncertain the tenure of human life. 
Even as we talked together he was standing, all unconscious 
and unsuspecting, upon the verge of ''the valley of the 
shadow of death." Our conversation ended we separated, 
and I saw him no more. The next mention I heard of his 
name was the announcement made to the House of Repre- 
sentatives that the dread messenger, to whose summons all 
men must make answer, had called him from his public 
station, and that his life, with all its hopes and aspirations, 
its pleasures and sorrows, its duties and responsibilities, had 
suddenly and unexpectedly ended. That announcement, 
with the recollection of his recent words still fresh in my 
mind, could not prove otherwise than painful, and impressed 
upon me anew the thought that "in the midst of life we 
are in death." 

How he met the last great ordeal I do not know. I can 
well imagine, however, and believe that lie met it as he had 
met all the stern and stubborn realities of life — bravely, man- 
fully, courageously; and that with unfaltering steps and 
nerved heart he passed into the mysterious, and 1 trust 
happier and better, hereafter. 

In oay limited intercourse with him he impressed me as a 
man of plain and simple habits, of pleasant and unostenta- 
tious manners, of kindly sympathies, and a genial, generous 
nature. He was uniformly courteous in his hearing, unob- 
trusive, and unassuming. 

Although not college bred he was well educated, and, 
what was better still, was Largely endowed with the genius 
of common sense. To that rare endowment, added to his 



Life and Character of Lewis F. II atson. 45 

untiring energy and great capacity for work, he owed much 
of the success that he achieved both in private and in pub- 
lic life. As a business man he was keen, shrewd, practical, 
and methodical. Method, in fact, was part of the man. 
Throughout almost his entire business career he was not only 
eminently but uniformly successful — as farmer, merchant, 
banker, and railroad president. It seemed that whatever 
he touched as with magic power was changed to gold, and 
when he died he was the owner of a princely fortune. 

The public life of Lewis F. Watson began with his elec- 
tion to the Forty-fifth Congress. Subsequently he was 
elected to the Forty-seventh and Fifty-first Congresses, and 
was at the time of his death the nominee of his j)arty for a 
seat in the Fifty-second. To the performance of his official 
duties he brought sound, discriminating judgment, tireless 
energy, and the wisdom " born of things achieved " in busi- 
ness life. From the beginning to the end of his public 
career he shirked no duty, evaded no responsibility, and had 
at all times the sublime courage of his convictions. Edu- 
cated and trained in the school of practical affairs, and be- 
lieving the Government to be a business as well as a political 
institution, he advocated the application to its conduct of 
the same methods that had proved valuable to him in his 
private enterprises. 

To the gifts and graces of oratory he made no pretensions, 
and his voice was seldom heard in the debates upon the floor. 
In the committee-room, however, where the real work of 
Congress is done, and where legislation is shaped and 
practically determined, his calm, clear, penetrating judg- 
ment frequently determined the fate of a measure. 

In his attendance upon the sittings of the House and at 
the meetings of the committees of which he was a member 
he was always prompt and punctual. Nothing but sickness 



46 Address of Mr. Maish, of Pennsylvania, on the 

or other unavoidable circumstance was ever permitted to 
interfere with his performance of the duties committed to 
his care. He served his constituents faithfully and well, 
and that they duly appreciated his worth and work is 
attested by the number of times they elected him to a seat 
in the highest legislative body of the Republic. 

His public life was as pure as it was plain, earnest, and 
practical. No suspicion of corruption or evil-doing was ever, 
even in the slightest degree, associated with his name. He 
has made for himself a record that has upon its fair page no 
blot or stain— the record of a true, noble, manly, courageous 
life, of fidelity to home and family, of high regard for his 
fellow-man, and sincere devotion to his country. 



ADDRESS OF MR. MAISH, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr. Speaker: Mr. Watson possessed many commend- 
able virtues. One of these, it seems to me, was the guiding 
star of his eminently successful life. Duty was to him an 
imperative command. Whatever he had to do, that path he 
would rigidly follow. It dominated his conduct in all the 
relations of life. It was, I believe, the secret of his success. 
A distinguished German author defined duty to be "the 
moral power of the individual." This was our brother's 
conception of it. Governed by it, he was rigidly just, thor- 
oughly honest. 

When it became apparent to his anxious friends that his 
strength was failing, they cautiously admonished him to re- 
pair to some health resort. To these suggestions lie would 
firmly reply, "It is my duty to remain here." He said to his 
now sorrowing widow m the day of his death, who, seeing 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 47 

with the keen eye of affection the portentous ravages of dis- 
ease, urged him to go away, "I would rather die at my post." 

Our brother was a man of unobtrusive manners. When, 
however, his opinions were sought he would give them 
decisively and firmly, as a man who knew what he was 
talking about. 

He gave to every prominent public question a careful con- 
sideration, and he possessed a direct and trenchant way of 
giving the reasons for the faith within him. This was no 
doubt the result of his business training. As is well known, 
he was an eminently successful business man, and by su- 
perior skill and judgment amassed a large fortune. Begin- 
ning as he did at the lowest round of the ladder, he rose 
to the very top by dint of great industry and extraordinary 
capacity. Chance played no part in it. 

This, in my judgment, is among the highest types of in- 
tellectual power. The ability to forecast the complex and 
varied forces of human energy is the gift of comparatively 
few, and yet this gift is requisite to the successful man of busi- 
ness. It is well that men of this character are often elected 
to fill seats in Congress. Here great problems of finance and 
trade are constantly considered, and what class of men are 
better qualified to grapple with these subjects? Few I am 
sure ever occupied seats in this Hall who were better fitted 
by large and successful business experience for the perform- 
ance of the duties of legislation, and the advantage this gave 
him was plainly manifest whenever he came to the consid- 
eration of financial questions. 

His domestic qualities were of the gentlest and sweetest 
kind. I first met him in the Forty-fifth Congress, to which 
we were both elected. His kindly nature soon attracted me 
to him and we became friends. After an interim of eight 
years we again met here as members of this House. The 



48 Address of Mr. Maish, of Pennsylvania, on tlie 

friendship we first formed was speedily renewed. It was, 
I am sure, warm and sincere, and I could not omit to pay 
my tribute to his memory. 

Death is always terrible, come as it may. Sudden death, 
however, strikes us with a peculiar horror. But why should 
it when it comes as it did to our brother? He fell as falls 
the warrior on the field of battle. He was in the midst of 
the struggle when the summons came. 

There is a tinge of heroism in such a death. The anguish 
of the heart is relieved by the contemplation of a spectacle 
so brave and manly. How startling was the tragic death 
of Windom! Sympathy and sorrow fill every breast. Yet 
if the hour had arrived for the spirit's flight, it could not 
have come more opportunely. The mind, the spiritual part, 
had just finished its temporal task when the dread messenger 
knocked at the door. His work here was over, and straight- 
way he joined the "invisible choir of the dead." 

How beautifully did our own poet, Fitz-Greene Halleck, 

convey the thought in the inimitable poem of his on Marco 

Bozzaris: 

Come to the bridal chamber, Death! 

Come to the mother's, when she feels, 
For the first time, her first-born's breath; 

Come when the blessed seals 
Thai close the pestilence are broke, 
And crowded cities wail its stroke: 
Come in consumption's ghastly form. 
The earthquake shock, the ocean storm; 
Come when the heart heats high and warm. 

With banquet song, and dance, and wine, 
Ami thou art terrible — the tear. 
The groan, the knell, the pall, the bier. 
And all we know, or dream, or fear 

< )f agony are thine. 
Bui to the hero, when his sword 

Has won the battle for the Tree. 
Thy voice sounds like a prophet's word; 
And in it - hollow tones are heard 

The thanks of millions yel to be. 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 49 

Come when his task of fame is wrought, 
Come with her laurel leaf, blood-bought, 

Come in her crowning hour, and then 
Thy sunken eyes' unearthly light 
To him is welcome as the sight 

Of sky and stars to prisoned men. 
Thy grasp is welcome as the hand 
Of brother in a foreign land : 
Thy summons welcome as the cry 
That told the Indian isles were nigh 

To the world-seeking Genoese; 
When the land winds from woods of palm 
And orange groves and fields of balm 

Blew o'er the Haytian seas. 

Let us not, therefore, lament that our brother was so sud- 
denly torn away from us. He died with his armor on, and 
we have the consolation of knowing that he left behind him 
a rare example of patriotic devotion to duty which it would 
be well for the country if all persons charged with a public 
trust would imitate and practice. 

Mr. Stone, of Pennsylvania. As a further mark of respect 
to the memory of the deceased, I move that the House do 
now adjourn. 

Mr. Maish. If my colleague will yield for a moment. I 
understand, Mr. Speaker, that a number of persons desire to 
prepare addresses on the death of our deceased brother, and 
I therefore ask unanimous consent that they may have per- 
mission to print such remarks in the Record when prepared. 

The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Grosvenor). In the ab- 
sence of objection that order will be made. 

There was no objection. 

Mr. Stone, of Pennsylvania. I now renew the motion to 
adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to. 
H. Mis. 133 4 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE. 

ANNOUNCEMENT OF DEATH. 



August 25, 1890. 
death of representative lewis f. watson. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. 
Martin, its Chief Clerk, conveyed to the Senate the intelli- 
gence of the death of Hon. Lewis F. Watson, late a mem- 
ber of the House of Representatives from the State of Penn- 
sylvania, and transmitted the resolutions of the House 
thereon. 

The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before the 
Senate resolutions from the House of Representatives, which 
will be read. 

The Chief Clerk read the resolutions of the House of Rep- 
resentatives, as follows: 

In the House of Representatives, August 25, 1890. 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound regret the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. Lewis F. Watson, late a Representative from 
the State of Pennsylvania. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate the foregoing resolution to the 
Senate, and that, as a further mark of respect to the memory of the de- 
ceased, the House do now adjourn. 

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That 
a select committee, consisting of seven members of the House and three 
members of the Senate, be appointed to take order for superintending the 

51 



52 Proceedings in the Senate. 

funeral, and that the necessary expenses attending the execution of this 
order be paid out of the contingent fund of the House 

Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House be authorized and 
directed to take such steps as may be necessary for properly carrying into 
effect the provisions of this resolution. 

In accordance with the above the Speaker announced the following com- 
mittee: 

William C. Culbertson of Pennsylvania, William McAdoo of New Jer- 
sey, Samuel A. Craig of Pennsylvania, Charles C. Townsend of Penn- 
sylvania, Levi Maish of Pennsylvania, William C. Wallace of New York, 
and James Kerr of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Quay. Mr. President, I offer the resolutions which I 
send to the desk, and move their adoption. 

The President pro tempore. The resolutions submitted 
by the Senator from Pennsylvania will be read. 

The Chief Clerk read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. Lewis F. Watson, late a member of the House 
of Representatives from the State of Pennsylvania. 

Resolved, That the Senate concur in the resolution of the House of Rep- 
resentatives providing for the appointment of a select committee to take 
order for superintending the funeral of the deceased; and that the mem- 
bers of the committee on the part of the Senate be appointed by the Presi- 
dent pro tempore. 

Mr. Quay. I ask for the adoption of the resolutions. 

The resolutions were agreed to unanimously. 

The President -pro tempore. The Chair announces as the 
members of the committee on the part of the Senate, Mr. 
Cameron, Mr. Cullom, and Mr. Faulkner. 

Mr. Quay. I offer an additional resolution. 

The President pro tempore. The resolution will be read. 

The Chief Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, Thai as an additional mark of respect to the memory of the 

deceased the Senate do now adjourn. 

Tin- n 'solid ion was agreed to unanimously; and (at 5 o'clock 
and 27 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, 
Tuesday, August 20, 1890, at 10 o'clock a. m. 



EULOGIES. 



February 24, 1891. 

Mr. Cameron. Mr. President, the hour of 5 o'clock having 
arrived, I call up the resolutions of the House of Representa- 
tives relative to my deceased colleague in the House of Rep- 
resentatives, the late Hon. Lewis F. Watson. 

The Vice President. The resolutions of the House of 
Representatives will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, as follows: 

In the House of Representatives, August 25, 1890. 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound regret the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. Lewis F. Watson, late a Representative from 
the State of Pennsylvania. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate the foregoing resolution to the 
Senate, and that, as a further mark of respect to the memory of the de- 
ceased, the House do now adjourn. 

Mr. Cameron. Mr. President, I offer the resolutions which 
I send to the desk. 

The Vice President. The resolutions submitted by the 
Senator from Pennsylvania will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow of the death 
of Hon. Lewis F. Watson, late a member of the House of Representa- 
tives from the State of Pennsylvania. 

Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended, in order 
that fitting tribute may be paid to his memory. 

Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect the Senate shall, at the 
conclusion of these ceremonies, adjourn. 

53 



54 Address of Mr. Cameron, of Pennsylvania, on the 



Address of Mr. Cameron, of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. President: Death has entered the Chambers of these 
two Houses of Congress twelve times during the Fifty-first 
Congress. Every one of seven States of this Union has lost 
an able and faithful Representative, but it was the misfor- 
tune of New York and Pennsylvania each to lose three of 
their Representatives, some of whom had performed long 
and the others a shorter period of efficient service. The 
death rate in this Congress has been exceedingly great, and, 
as I am informed, unprecedented, and now near the close of 
the Fifty-first Congress its roll discloses the absence of the 
following members: Edward J. Gay, of Louisiana; James 
Laird, of Nebraska; Richard W. Townshend, of Illinois; 
Samuel S. Cox, of New York; Newton W. Nutting, of New 
York; William D. Kelley, of Pennsylvania; David Wilber, 
of New York; Samuel J. Randall, of Pennsylvania; James 
P.Walker, of Missouri; James B. Beck, of Kentucky; Lewis 
F. Watson, of Pennsylvania, and James Phelan, of Ten- 
nessee. 

On Monday, August 25, 1890, Lewis Findlay Watson, 
late Representative from the Twenty-seventh district of 
Pennsylvania, died suddenly at the Shoreham. in the city 
of Washington, about 11 o'clock in the morning, as he was 
leaving that hotel to attend the session of the House. The 
shock was very great to his many friends, by whom he was 
highly esteemed, and many of whom could hardly realize 
that death had robbed them of his presence. The disease 
which struck Mr. Watson down was similar to that which 
deprived us of out' late departed colleague from Kentucky. 
Senator Beck, and the late Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. 
Windom. 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 55 

Mr. Watson was born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, 
April 14, 1819. His father and mother, John Watson and 
Rebecca Bradley, came from Delaware, and were descended 
from a Scotch-Irish ancestry. The educational advantages 
during the boyhood of Mr. Watson were such as were 
afforded in his and surrounding counties, and were neces- 
sarily at that period of a rather meager character. Leaving 
school at the age of thirteen, he obtained employment as 
clerk in a store in Titusville, Crawford County, and served 
in similar positions in Franklin and Warren Counties until 
1837. In that year he secured employment in the office of 
the prothonotary of Warren County, and held this place 
until 1838. Young Watson, knowing his limited education, 
commenced a course of study at the Warren Academy, where 
he was a close student of bookkeeping and mathematics, a 
branch of his education which in after years became an 
important factor in his business life. 

Leaving the academy, Mr. Watson entered upon mer- 
cantile pursuits in the borough of Warren, in partnership 
with Archibald Tanner and S. T. Nelson, under the style of 
Nelson, Watson & Co. At the termination of this copartner- 
ship in 1841, he continued his mercantile pursuits, sometimes 
on his own account and sometimes with others, until 1860, 
when, closing this business, he turned his attention more 
directly to the manufacture and marketing of lumber. In 
the autumn of 1859, in company with his brother John and 
Archibald Tanner, he engaged in the development of the 
petroleum business by drilling wells on his brother's farm 
at Titusville. In the spring of 1860 the firm opened what 
was known as the Fountain Oil Well, the first flowing well 
in the district, probably the first in the country. 

Since that time Mr. Watson had at different periods 
engaged in the production of petroleum, but he at the same 



56 Address of Mr. Cameron, of Pennsylvania, on the 

time continued his large operations in pine-timber lands, of 
which he owned thousands of acres, and in the manufacture 
and sale of lumber, and in other financial enterprises up to 
the time of his death. 

In these enterprises he was guided by sound business prin- 
ciples, combined with hard work, indomitable industry, 
shrewdness, and foresight; in fact, he had all the character- 
istics which bring success, and he consequently achieved 
great prominence in his section of the State as a business 
man. He was excelled by none and equaled by few in his 
energy, good j udgment, and untiring zeal. No wonder, then, 
that he amassed a large and lucrative fortune, which was 
built up by his own honest efforts. 

In 1861 Mr. Watson organized the Conewango Valley 
Railroad Company, now known as the Dunkirk, Allegheny 
Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad Company. The construc- 
tion of this railroad was due more to his efforts than to those 
of anyone else, and he became its first president. In lsr.4 
he was one of the original stockholders of the First National 
Bank of Warren, and for a number of years was its vice 
] (resident. In 1870 he organized the Warren Savings Bank, 
of which he was the first president, which position he held 
until the 22d of November, 1889, but he continued his interest 
in it as a stockholder. In 1877 lie purchased a tract of 
2,000 acres of land in Cass County, Dakota, and put it under 
cultivation. He took especial interest in this investment, 
and spoke with great enthusiasm <>f the great future of that 
remarkable country. 

I have given these details to show Mr. Watson's greal 
business qualifications, and his line executive capacity, to 
cope with so many and varied enterprises. Although he 
was not widely known as a public man. he was well and 
favorably known throughout northwestern Pennsylvania, 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 57 

that portion of the State in which he lived. He was a man 
of sound wisdom and large experience, and made his impress 
upon business and political circles. 

Mr. Watson had been a member of the Republican party 
since its organization, and at all times earnestly and actively 
supported the great principles of that party. His devotion 
to its success and his fine business achievements being well 
known, in 1 874 Mr. Watson received the unanimous recom- 
mendation of his party in Warren County to the district 
convention as a candidate for Representative in Congress, 
but during the convention his name was withdrawn, at his 
own request, which brought about the unanimous renomi- 
nation of Hon. C. B. Curtis, the then Representative from 
the Twenty-seventh Congressional district. Mr. Curtis, 
however, was defeated by a small majority at the polls by 
his Democratic opponent. 

In 1876 Mr. Watson was nominated by his party to 
represent the district in the Forty-fifth Congress, and lie 
was elected by a majority of 3,547. 

The district then was composed of the counties of Erie, 
Venango, and Warren. He received 15,040 votes, against 
12,093 votes for William L. Scott, Democrat; 327 votes for 
Samuel Axtell, Prohibitionist, and 249 votes for C. C. Camp, 
Greenbacker. 

The House of Representatives during the Forty-fifth 
Congress was under the control of the Democratic party, 
Hon. Samuel J. Randall, of Pennsylvania, being Speaker. 
Mr. Watson was assigned to the Committees on Agriculture 
and Expenditures in the Post-Office Department, and per- 
formed his duties faithfully and efficiently. 

Mr. Watson, however, failed to receive— although he 
sought it— the nomination for the succeeding term, but in 
1880 he received the nomination to represent his party and 



58 Address of Mr. Cameron, of Pennsylvania, 071 tJie 

district in the Forty-seventh Congress, and at the election he 
received 15,740 votes, against 14,438 votes for Alfred Short, 
a Democrat and Greenbacker. 

The House of Representatives was then Republican, Hon. 
J. W. Keifer, of Ohio, being Speaker. Mr. Watson was 
assigned to two of the most important committees of the 
House, the Committee on Naval Affairs and the Committee 
on Public Lands, and his colleagues on those committees 
know how diligently he worked while serving there. 

Mr. Watson was not successful in obtaining the nomina- 
tions for the three succeeding terms. In 1888, however, he 
was nominated and elected to the Fifty-first Congress from 
the new district which had been formed, comprising the 
counties of McKean, Warren, Venango, and Cameron, by a 
majority of 4,212 over three competitors, receiving 13,582 
votes, against 9,370 for William A. Rankin, Democrat, 1,G70 
votes for Charles Miller, Prohibitionist, and 919 votes for J. 
Whitely, Greenbacker. The House was Republican, Hon. 
Thomas B. Reed, of Maine, being Speaker. Mr. Watson 
was again assigned to duty on the Committees on Naval 
Affairs and Public Lands. He was again nominated last 
year to the Fifty-second Congress, but died before the fall 
election took place. 

Suck is in brief the history of Mr. Watson's public career. 
While Mr. Watson never took a prominent part in the de- 
butes in the House, yet he was a very useful member, and a 
modest, retiring, and careful legislator. He served his con- 
stituents by his votes on the floor of the House and by his 
diligent work in the committee-rooms, seldom failing to be 
present at any of the meetings of the committees of which 
he was a member. He made the rounds of the Departments 
almost daily, in rain or sunshine, in behalf of the interest of 
some constituent, and a day seldom passed without Ms ac- 



Life and Character of Lewis F. Watson. 59 

complishing some good act. He was a kind-hearted man, 
and was always glad to assist and did assist many young 
men in whom he had confidence. 

Mr. President, I knew Mr. Watson intimately. My ac- 
quaintance with him began many years ago, and I can truth- 
fully say that I always found him to be a straightforward, 
frank, and unselfish gentleman, a man who had the interest 
of his State at heart, and whose sole purpose was to labor 
for the interest of the great Commonwealth of which he was 
an honored citizen. 



Address of Mr. Vest, of Missouri. 

Mr. President : We pause again in the rush and roar of 
onr busy life to pay a tribute to the dead. Every human 
life is full of imperfection and frailty ; and the question to 
be asked as we stand at the open grave is whether the aggre- 
gate of the life ended has made the world better and hap- 
pier. But little real sorrow can be felt for the departure of 
one who has murdered the sunshine and who has not made 
any other human being the better for having come in con- 
tact with him. The retrospect most terrible, as we come to 
the close of the last great account, must be that we have sac- 
rificed the opportunity of bringing happiness to those about 
us in order to gratify passion and appetite. Real happiness 
comes alone from devotion to duty. The highest duty possi- 
ble to our existence is giving happiness to others. 

Him of whom I speak to-day devoted his life to duty. He 
was eminently successful in the sphere where Providence 
had placed him. He commanded the confidence and respect 
of his State, and accumulated honestly and by legitimate 
methods a large fortune. His leading characteristic, so gen- 



60 Address of Mr. Vest, of Missouri, etc. 

erally accorded to him, so universally acknowledged tliat it 
went with his name wherever that name was mentioned, 
was amiability, kindness, a loving tenderness beyond the 
ordinary nature of men. In every relation of life he brought 
to those around him comfort, kindly feeling, and happiness. 
No epitaph can be equal to this. Nothing that I could say 
would add to this simple fact. 

My acquaintance with Mr. Watson was limited to our 
official intercourse as members of the respective Houses of 
Congress. He was a plain, direct man, without ostentation, 
without affectation; in everything that he did and said fol- 
lowing the instincts of a just and generous nature. 

Mr. President, I shall not enter into the details of his life, 
for my acquaintance with him would not justify it, nor is it 
necessary. I have stated what those who knew him far better 
than myself attest as the truth, and powerless as we are in 
the face of the great enemy that has taken him from his 
people, his family, and his State, we can only follow him to 
the hereafter with the prayer that he has a blessed immor- 
tality. 

Mr. Cameron. Mr. President, I ask for the adoption of 
the resolutions. 

The resolutions were agreed to unanimously; and the Sen- 
ale (at 5 o'clock and 15 minutes p. m.) adjourned until to- 
morrow, Wednesday, February 25, 1891, at 1 1 o'clock a. m. 



6V79 



x ^ 



A- *> V* 




» ^> 



%V 




























■O v t 



+> <t. 
























• 






<$>■ 



A * v< v 






+*. Ji 









